ISRO successfully launches XPoSat on New Year's Day Mission to study black holes

New Delhi : The Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO) kickstarted new year with a significant milestone by launching its first mission of 2024. The space agency propelled the XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) along with 10 other satellites from Sriharikota's spaceport, attached to powerful PSLV-C58 rocket.

The mission is India's first X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, XPoSat, designed to investigate the polarization of intense X-ray sources and explore the insights about mysterious black holes. Famous astrophysicist Dr. RC Kapoor, commenting on the launch, stated, "XPoSat is India's first X-Ray satellite, intended for detecting X-rays emanating from exotic objects such as neutron stars and black holes."

The PSLV-C58 Mission involved placing the XPoSat Satellite into an eastward low inclination orbit. Post-injection, the PS4 stage underwent two re-starts to adjust the orbit to a 350 km circular orbit, ensuring stability for Orbital Platform (OP) experiments. The ISRO revealed that the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) experiment was successfully executed, meeting the objectives of 10 identified payloads provided by ISRO and IN-SPACe.

XPoSat's spacecraft carries two scientific payloads essential for advancing astronomical research. The primary payload, POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays), is designed to measure polarimetry parameters in the medium X-ray energy range of 8-30 keV photons. Additionally, the XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) payload will offer spectroscopic information within the energy range of 0.8-15 keV.